25 June 2008

As a longtime fan of the character, I'm looking forward to the new Batman movie (in spite of the fact that I think the new mask is the worst in the modern crop of movies, and I thought the color palette for Batman Begins was all wrong). I'm for any movie that kills one of its lead actors....Game of Death, Twilight Zone, The Crow...if an actor's willing to die for his art, I'm willing to plunk down my dough to watch him do it.I was thinking about the character the other day, and realized that in all the writeups the movie Batmen get....Adam West, Michael Keaton, etc. ...nobody ever seems to mention the original movie Batman, Lewis Wilson. That could have something to do with the fact that there were none of the recognizable Rogue's Gallery villains in there. Or maybe it could have something to do with the fact that the costume they used for the Dark Knight in that incarnation looked like it was bought at a dollar store clearance sale. Really, Adam West's featurless physique was bad enough, but was this really the best they could do at the time? Batman is supposed to be a brooding figure of mystery who inspires fear in the hearts of evildoers. Can you imagine being afraid of this goofy sonofagun? So now matter how bad Dark Knight might turn out to be, remember...it could always be worse.

20 June 2008

Here's a sketch I did a long time ago. I titled this one "French Class" because it was done in a university French class. I'm an inveterate doodler, and seem to pay better attention to a speaker when my hands are busy with pen and paper. So if you're ever talking to me and think I'm not paying attention because I'm drawing, relax...it probably means I'm deeply focussed on what you're saying!

13 June 2008

Father's Day's coming up, for anyone who cares about that sort of thing...the time of year when your family ignores your request not to spend money and buys you things that you neither want nor need, nor could ever possibly use, all in the name responding to overwhelming advertising. Nevertheless, if nothing else, it's a good opportunity to lie in to the point of being ridiculous and then grab a nap in the middle of the afternoon without needing an excuse.So, in the spirit of the sleep deprived everywhere, Happy Father's Day!

10 June 2008

This is a very quick, very rough portrait sketch of artist Dina Babbitt based on a photo found via Google. Ms. Babbitt was a prisoner of Auschwitz during WWII who helped herself and her mother survive largely through her art. While at the camp, she was assigned by Josef Mengele to paint portraits of some of the gypsy prisoners, apparently because he did not think the film stock at the time captured their coloration correctly. She came to his notice by painting a mural of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the children's barracks, and fittingly, later went on to marry Art Babbitt, the chief animator on that Disney film.At present, her gypsy paintings are kept in the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum. She has requested that they be returned to her for a number of very personal reasons, not least of which that she feels that the subjects they portray need to be finally freed from Auschwitz. Her requests have been denied to date on the basis that the paintings are an essential piece of the history of the place.There is currently a petition circulating to have her paintings returned to her. Anyone interested can read about and get instructions to digitally sign the petition via this page at The Comics Reporter.

I've just finished listening to an interview with Ms. Babbitt on CBC Radio's "The Current". Considering a recent discussion I've entered at the Bruno the Bandit forums, it seemed especially relevant. Listening to her speak was fascinating, not only because of her singular experience, but also because of the dignity with which she presented herself. She strikes me as a very self-actualized person with a strong appreciation of her own existence, which I suppose would follow logically from the events of her life. Considering that we live in a time when everything from spilled coffee to a parking ticket becomes the cause for a lawsuit, a public inquiry, or indignant demands for justice, I was surprised at how undemanding and sincere Ms. Babbitt sounded in the face of the true injustices she has endured. In that, I think she may be a model for understanding the quality of individual existence and questioning why we assign value to the things we do and own.For anyone interested, the interview with Ms. Babbitt will apparently be archived at www.cbc.ca/thecurrent. I strongly recommend giving it a listen.

09 June 2008

Just a reminder for anyone who's interested that my old webcomic, "The Journals of Simon Pariah" is still up over at Comic Genesis. I would have thought that they'd have taken this down by now, considering that it's been a couple of years since I've updated, but I just checked, and it's still there. In addition to 8 original Simon Pariah online comics, there's also a bunch of other things I've written and drawn. Some of it is rough stuff, but it's amusing to browse around the site for a bit.

04 June 2008

How do you spell Fun? I can tell you how not to spell it...P.N.E.U.M.O.N.I.A. I've just had the two most unproductive weeks of my life, weeks in which I couldn't get it together enough to read a book, let along write or draw anything. One of my lungs is still trying to eject itself from my body, and I've burst the blood vessels in one eye from coughing (no joke! I look like a rough draft of Harvey Dent), but I'm finally putting myself back together, which means back to work.Once again, my plate is full for about the next month, so anything new will have to wait at least that long. The sketch request line is still open, but will understandably be running at a slow pace for a while as I try to catch up and recuperate.Meantime, here's an old sketch that I think fairly accurately describes how I feel...